Google plans to slow its hiring pace for the remainder of the year, in the latest sign that tech companies are rethinking employee hiring amid a market downturn that has hit Silicon Valley particularly hard.
Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and parent company Alphabet, announced the news Tuesday in an internal memo, noting “the uncertain global economic outlook.” Google confirmed the letter’s authenticity but declined to comment further.
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“Moving forward, we need to be more enterprising, working with greater urgency, sharper focus and more hunger than we show on the sunniest days,” Pichai said in the memo, according to The Wall Street Journal. “In some cases, this means consolidating where investments overlap and streamlining processes.”
Alphabet reported having a headcount of 163,906 employees at the end of March, according to a regulatory filing, an increase of more than 20,000 employees over the previous year.
Google’s memo is the latest indication that the once booming tech sector is facing a new reality check after having recently enjoyed a surge in demand due to changing consumer behavior during the pandemic. Rising inflation levels, rising interest rates and fears of an impending recession have prompted a number of tech companies to announce recently that they are cutting back on hiring or cutting staff.
A growing number of tech companies have announced layoffs, including Netflix and Coinbase. GoPuff, an ultra-fast delivery startup, recently notified investors that it plans to cut 10% of its global workforce and close dozens of its U.S. warehouses. Microsoft also confirmed earlier this week that it was cutting a small number of jobs, though it plans to continue hiring.
Other companies, including Uber, Lyft, Snap, Twitter and Apple, have also signaled plans to cut costs going forward.
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